Concrete pavement joint cleaner



I Sept. 26, 1961 HlSAO TOMlTA ETAL 3,001,778

CONCRETE PAVEMENT JOINT CLEANER Filed NOV. 3, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HISAO fim/TA ROBERT J. BREsHEARs EDGAR E. BRESHEARS INVENTORS BY I my 2 ATTQRNEY Sept. 26, 1961 HISAO TOMlTA ET AL 3,

CONCRETE PAVEMENT JOINT CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 3, 1959 H/sAa 75M/ TA ROBERT J BRESHEARS EDGAR E. BRESHEARS INVENTOR? ATTORNIE'Y f ies-Q Sept. 26, 1961 HlSAO TOMlTA ET AL 3,001,778

CONCRETE PAVEMENT JOINT CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 3, 1959 .z/ 0 @EEEXEQER X ATTORNE Y 3 applied to the abrasive wheels 30 and 36 by means of the hose or tubing 18 and nozzles 19.

Abrasive wheels 30 and 36 are supported on trans- -verse shaft arrangements 32 and 38. Since these shaft arrangements are similar in every respect except that they are reversed in direction, i.e., the pulley of one shaft arrangement is on one side of the longitudinal axis of the framework while the pulley of the other shaft arrangement is on the other side of the longitudinal axis, only the one shaft arrangement shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described in detail.

Thus with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, wheel shaft 33 issupported in bearing supports 34 which may be welded or otherwise suitably secured to bottom plate 22. Bearings 35 are supported thereby and shaft 33 is suitably journalled therein. While bearings 35 are illustrated as sleeve-type bearings, they may, of course, be of any suitable anti-friction type with due provision for excluding dust, dirt, and moisture. Pulley 31 and shaft collar 39 are secured to shaft 33 on either side of the righthand support 34, thus prohibiting any axial movement of the shaft. Shaft 33 is provided with radial pins or keys 25 for the purpose of transmitting rotary power to the abrasive wheel 30 as will be described presently.

Wheel 30 is provided with a central aperture sufiiciently large enough to allow the wheel to be mounted on the wheel carrying sleeve 26. This sleeve is provided with a bore which is a sliding fit on the shaft 33. It also is furnished with slots 27 which cooperate with the radial pins or keys 25 such that sleeve 26 is rotated with shaft 33. This sleeve 26 is provided with an enlarged central hub 28 which has a large diameter wheel engaging flange 29 and a reduced diameter journal 42. Flange 29 is pro vided with counterbored apertures 43 which accept flat headed machine bolts 44 which in turn are used to bolt the wheel 30 to the hub 28 by means of corresponding apertures 45 formed in the abrasive wheel 30. It will .be seen, thus far, that abrasive wheel 30 is so mounted as to rotate with power shaft 33 but the wheel also has a limited axial movement with respect to the shaft.

The mechanism or jack assembly for effecting the axial movement of the wheel 30 and its sleeve 26 comprises a thrust bearing 41, a compression spring 47, a slotted housing 48 having a central extending screw or jack shaft 49, an apertured channel structure 51 for supporting screw shaft 49 for axial movement and a threaded hand wheel 52 which is threaded on to screw shaft 49 and fits between the webs of channel 51. Since the latter is secured to plate 22, hand wheel 52 may rotate but cannot move longitudinally. Thus, as hand wheel 52 is rotated, jack shaft 49 is moved to the right or left depending on the direction of rotation of the hand wheel. Housing 48 may be generally rectangular in shape with its bottom plate provided with a slot 53 of sufficient size as to admit bearing support 34. Due to this slotted construction, it will be seen that housing 48 and jack shaft 49 are prohibited from any rotary. motion. The end plate 54 of the housing 48 is provided with a cylindrical aperture 55 which is of sufiicient size to accept the left end of sleeve 26 in a running, sliding fit. Oompression spring 47 bearsat one end against the housing end plate 54 and against the stationary portion 41a of t the thrust bearing 41 at the other end. Thus, when hand -wheel 52 is rotated in the proper direction, housing 48 and jack shaft 49 are retracted to the left and wheel 30 with its sleeve 26 may be pushed manually to the left until the wheel 30 is disposed approximately central to the slot 56 formed in lower plate 22. Then, when the joint cleaner is positioned over the joint, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, hand wheel 52 is turned in the opposite direction, jack 49, housing 48 and spring 47 are protracted to the right forcing the wheel 30 against .the right hand edge of the joint 70, as shown in FIG. '3.As there shown, abrasive wheel 30 may be of semiflexible material or of the so-called waffle type of 4 construction so that it may conform to the angle of the joint side where the joint is slightly veed out for case of application and removal of the joint sealing compound.

Swivel caster wheels 50 are provided for transportation of the machine from one location to another and/or for transiting it along the pavement joint. These caster wheels may be independently lowered and raised by means of a mechanical jacking system 57, as shown, or by any other suitable hydraulic or electrical means. Naturally, the function of this jacking mechanism is to position the abrasive wheels with respect to the joint, i.e., height adjustment, or to raise the working parts clear of the pavement as shown in FIG. 8 for purposes of transportation from one location to another. Since such caster wheels and their associated jacking mechanisms are well known in the art, no further detailed description is considered necessary.

Guide wheels 40 and 46 are positioned outboard of the abrasive wheels 30 and 36 and are in general alignment therewith. These guide wheels are preferably of hardened steel and are provided with tapered or inverted V shaped rim 58. These guide wheels are floatingly supported so that they may contact the upper edges of the joint 70, as shown in FIG. 5, and thus guide the cleaning machine along the pavement joint. The floating support mechanism for each guide comprises two support members 59 which are secured suitably, as by welding, in parallel relationship along the edges of a slot 61 formed along the longitudinal axis of the lower framework plate 22. Each support member 59 is provided with a vertical aperture 62 in which slides a bearing member 63. This latter element is bored to receive the guide wheel shaft 64. A removable cap member 65 is provided across the top of each support member 59 for insertion or removal of the bearing members 63 and the guide wheel 40. Compression springs 66 are placed 'between the upper surface of the bearing members 63 and the lower surfaces of caps 65. These serve to push the bearing members downwardly and keep the rims of the guide wheels constantly in contact with the upper edges of the joint 70 so as to elfectively guide the cleaning machine along the pavement joint. While the guide wheel floating support members have been illustrated and described as purely mechanical arrangements, it is to be understood that hydraulic or other fluid mechanisms could be provided for accomplishing the same purpose.

While manual moving means 60 have been shown, it should also be understood that other means could be provided for utilizing the prime mover for purposes of transportation of the machine from one location to another or for transit of the machine along the pavement joint.

In operation, the machine, adjusted as shown in FIG. 8, is moved to the vicinity of the pavement joint. The guide wheels are aligned therewith and the caster wheel jack mechanisms are operated to lower the framework 20, guide wheels 40 and 46, and abrasive wheels 30 and 36 so that the latter are adjusted to the proper depth for the joint to be cleaned and the guide wheels are in contact with the upper edges of the joint. With the prime mover in operation, the abrasive wheels 30 and 36 are then moved laterally, by adjusting their respective hand wheels, 52, until wheel 30, say, takes up against the right hand side of the joint (FIG. 3) and wheel 36 takes up against the left hand side. Thus the joint may be completely cleaned in one pass of the machine. While the abrasive wheels may be, as previously mentioned, of refracting materials bound in a semi-flexible binder, they may also be diamond saws or of other suitable materials and construction for joint cleaning purposes.

In actual use, the joints encountered vary in width from 34 to 2" and from 0" to 2" in depth. However, by varying the construction sufiiciently, various sizes of abrasive wheels may be used with their shaft arrangementsto accommodate any size or type of pavement joint. Also,

while we have described our invention generally in connection with concrete pavements, we are not limited thereto as any type of pavement having joints is susceptible to the use of our joint cleaner providing, of course, that the pavement material is such that it can be removed by rapidly rotating abrasive means.

While a preferred embodiment of our joint cleaner has been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that numerous modifications, such as those mentioned above, may be made by those skilled in the art, all of which are considered as falling within the spirit of our invention.

Having thus described our pavement joint cleaner, We claim:

1. A pavement joint cleaner, comprising, in combination:

a structural framework adapted to be moved over a pavement, said framework having a longitudinal axis parallel to its principal direction of travel along a joint in said pavement;

height adjustable swivel casters supporting said framework for vertical and translational movement thereof;

a prime mover mounted centrally on said framework;

a pair of thin, flexible abrasive wheels mounted substantially in tandem on said framework along the longitudinal axis thereof;

transverse shaft means mounted on said framework for supporting and rotating said abrasive wheels;

means associated with said shaft means for moving said abrasive wheels laterally of each other and said longitudinal axis;

connecting means between said prime mover and said transverse shaft means; and

means for moving said joint cleaner over said pavement and along said pavement joint.

2. In a pavement joint cleaner having a framework capable of vertical and translational movement over and above said pavement, a prime mover, and means for propelling said joint cleaner over said pavement and along a joint in said pavement, the combination of:

a pair of abrasive wheels mounted substantially in tandem along the line of said pavement joint; means for driving said abrasive wheels independently of each other from said prime mover; means for laterally adjusting said abrasive wheels independently of each other so as to engage the vertical sides of said joint; and guiding means aligned generally with said abrasive wheels for guiding said wheels along said pavement joint, said guiding means being adapted to closely engage the upper edges of said joint at all times during the joint cleaning operation.

References Jilted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,502,043 Howard Mar. 28, 1950 2,581,477 Franks Jan. 8, 1952 2,664,281 Luksch et al Dec. 29, 1953 2,782,017 Lewis Feb. 19, 1957 

